Help Save Our Rural River Valley

Anyone living within a 10-mile radius of the former polo fields in the San Dieguito River Valley in some has way been adversely affected by the steadily expanding use of those fields for sporting and other large events. The City of San Diego has consistently ignored violations of the 2016 lease and Grant Deed restrictions, essentially allowing Surf Cup Sports and its myriad business entities free rein to exploit the property for commercial gain.

The Grant Deed that runs with the land bars large assemblages of people and cars in the environmentally sensitive open space (currently some 2,500 cars a day come and go on event weekends) and limits use of the 114 acre property to passive, non-commercial recreational uses such as picnicking, walking, hiking, and similar activities. Most importantly, the deed restrictions limit use of the property to 25 days a year.

A lawsuit filed in April 2023 by the Fairbanks Polo Club Homeowners Association (FPCHA), as successor to the original Grant Deed, seeks enforcement of these restrictions by the City of San Diego. Surf Cup Sports has since intervened as a defendant to safeguard its unfettered access to the fields that is essential to its lucrative and continually evolving business model.

Before that important case has even gone to trial, Surf Cup Sports (d.b.a. as Pioneer Sports and Entertainment) has applied for a permit to build a massive, 48,000 sq. ft. sports facility on an adjacent 24-acre parcel that would only add to and exacerbate the already heavy traffic along Via de la Valle, a rural, two-lane County road, as well dawn-to-dusk noise and dust from events that take place throughout the year on the existing sports fields.

A coalition of residents from Solana Beach, Del Mar, Rancho Santa Fe, and Carmel Valley, among other North County San Diego neighborhoods directly affected by the impacts of Surf’s unchecked activities, has banded together to help support the legal effort behind the FPC HOA lawsuit against the City of San Diego and Surf Cup Sports.

Going up against the City of San Diego and an aggressive and notorious mega sports business and events promoter operating under the guise of "youth sports" is a formidable task requiring hours of volunteer time and effort but most importantly, solid, professional, and conscientious legal counsel – so far funded solely by the HOA that filed the lawsuit.

Now, your generous donations will go directly to help fund the legal battle and to inform and educate the community about this threat to one of the last remaining parcels of open space in the San Dieguito River Valley.

For more information please visit www.preservethepolofields.com